The Buff Orpington is a breed of chicken named after the town of Orpington, Kent in south-east England. It was bred for superior egg laying while retaining meat quality. Its large size and soft appearance together with its rich color and gentle contours give it an attractive appearance, and as such it is grown more often as a show bird rather than a utility breed. Hens often become broody and are good mothers. Although rather heavy, Orpingtons are able to fly small distances but rarely do so.

The original Black Orpington was bred by William Cook in 1886 by crossing Minorcas, Langshans and Plymouth Rocks to create a new hybrid bird. Cook selected a black bird that would exhibit well by hiding the dirt and soot of London. When the breed was shown in Madison Square Gardens in 1895, its popularity soared. Cook also bred the Orpington Duck.

The original colors are black, white, buff, blue and splash. Although there are many additional varieties recognized throughout the world, only the original colors are recognized by the American Standard, the Buff being the most common color. In the beginning of the twentieth century, Herman Kuhn of Germany developed a Bantam variety. The Bantam retains the appearance of the full-size bird, but in a smaller size. There is a large variety of colors in the Bantam version, including black, blue laced, white, buff, red, buff black laced, barred, buff Columbian, and Birchen. The Bantam retains the friendly personality of the Standard breed, and seldom or never flies.

Citation: Some information presented is courtesy Wikipedia contributors. “Orpington chicken.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 16 Jan. 2018. Web. 18 Apr. 2018.